"It's a cross between opera, drag show and contemporary performance": Drag France 2025 winner Don Giovanna arrives in Toulon

Who would have thought that a former luxury hotel employee would become the "reigning queen" of the year? Don Giovanna, the winner of the Drag France 2025 competition, held last February near Lyon, can be found at the Télégraphe in Toulon this Saturday, May 24, with her show Don Giovanna - Act 1 . Her show, described as an "explosion cocktail," mixes opera arias (from Purcell to Rameau and Bellini) and pop hits (Lady Gaga and Doja Cat), all sprinkled with dance and projected videos.

"It's at the crossroads between opera, drag show and contemporary performance," the artist sums up. And as for looks, there's no question of doing things by halves: "It's Marseille artists who take care of it, including Leo Peralta who did a crazy job on a lot of my outfits (...) For the moment, I customize, I'm not yet good enough with the machine. My grandmother is teaching me, but it's long." Her first steps on stage? "First theater, and then lyrical singing at the Marseille conservatory," sums up the artist with a baritone range.

Drag, the most sincere of impostures

While Don Giovanna shines on stage, she also fully embraces the political dimension of her art. "Being in drag on the street, wearing false eyelashes, it's a political act," she says. Between kind looks and less tolerant reactions, she prefers to remember the good moments. "Children who offer me flowers, old people who ask me where I bought my wigs... In these moments, I say to myself: you've served a purpose."

As for RuPaul's Drag Race , the artist acknowledges its impact: "It helped democratize the art of drag, but it also raised the bar. Audiences now expect to see what they see on TV." In the meantime, Don Giovanna continues to challenge the rules, proving that drag is much more than an art of appearance: "When I'm on stage, I feel like I'm taking off my mask, being my most intimate self."

Don Giovanna - Act 1 is a show not to be missed, unless you're afraid of being upstaged by a queen as talented as she is charismatic.

Saturday, May 24 at 8:30 p.m. Telegraph, in Toulon. 15 euros.